[Tainan, Taiwan] - 進福炒鱔魚專家/Jìn fú chǎo shàn yú zhuānjiā
One of the must eat items in Tainan is eel with e-noodles. I believe you can get it all around the island, but it's famous in Tainan. Most importantly, it tastes better here. A fair amount of Taiwanese food has a goopy, sweet sauce that sometimes is referred to as "soup." It isn't pretty, but when it's done well, it tastes fantastic. At Jinfu, as soon as I smell the familiar sweet smell of the "soup" I am hungry. No matter how much I've eaten prior. It's that good.
The eels are de-boned, so feel free to take big bites! They have other options too, like cuttlefish. I have seen people eating completely different items, but the eels are their specialty. The last time I went was December of 2015 and the noodles, soup, and fish were all fantastic. It's not a pretty dish, but the flavor is so full of umami that you forget how it looks and just devour the entire bowl.
What's it like eating the eel? Eel is kind of a scary animal for many people, even though unagi isn't as scary. Probably helps that you see less of it, and it has its own unagi sauce that is teriyaki based. The eel here though, are local eels and when cooked like this are not dry and flaky. There isn't a lot of meat since the eels are thin, but the meat that is there is tender. The interesting part of it is that initial bite that has a slight crunch to it like eating geoduck. Looking at a geoduck, you would assume it's like abalone but it's not. Same with eel. It's definitely worth a try though! If you ever make it to Tainan, or live there and haven't tried yet, get some friends together and share a bowl. You never know, you might like it!
The eels are de-boned, so feel free to take big bites! They have other options too, like cuttlefish. I have seen people eating completely different items, but the eels are their specialty. The last time I went was December of 2015 and the noodles, soup, and fish were all fantastic. It's not a pretty dish, but the flavor is so full of umami that you forget how it looks and just devour the entire bowl.
What's it like eating the eel? Eel is kind of a scary animal for many people, even though unagi isn't as scary. Probably helps that you see less of it, and it has its own unagi sauce that is teriyaki based. The eel here though, are local eels and when cooked like this are not dry and flaky. There isn't a lot of meat since the eels are thin, but the meat that is there is tender. The interesting part of it is that initial bite that has a slight crunch to it like eating geoduck. Looking at a geoduck, you would assume it's like abalone but it's not. Same with eel. It's definitely worth a try though! If you ever make it to Tainan, or live there and haven't tried yet, get some friends together and share a bowl. You never know, you might like it!
The cuttlefish version is also very good, but I prefer the eel since I can't eat it anywhere else.
Address:
No. 46, Section 1, Fuqian Road,
West Central District,
Tainan City, Taiwan 700
